Table of contents for 37 in Android Advisor

£TBC • samsung.com/uk • release date, 28 April Samsung’s Gear VR is a VR headset that wraps around its Galaxy phones, allowing owners to experience high-quality VR without the expense of specialised rigs like the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive (and the PC required to run them) or the PS VR and PS4. New phones require Samsung to produce a new Gear VR to fit around them, and so it is with the rather Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones. The latest Gear VR isn’t much different from the previous model, but there’s now a separate controller that makes a radical difference to how you use it, and what experiences you have with it. Samsung has also created a new portal and app with lots more videos and games.…

£169 inc VAT • motorola.co.uk Premium for All’ is Lenovo’s new motto for its G5 phones, the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus, which aim to offer the build quality and feel of a flagship device at decidedly non-flagship prices. That’s especially true of the G5, which offers a metal body, rapid charging, and fingerprint sensor controls – all at a sub-£200 price. The Moto G4 was one of our favourite mid-range phones last year, so can the G5 repeat the trick? If you want to find out if it’s premium for all or cheap and cheerful, find out in our G5 review. Price The Moto G5’s best feature is arguably its price: the handset retails in the UK for just £169 for the 2GB RAM model, and £179 for…

£130 inc VAT • tinyurl.com/Lvztjg9 The Chinese market for smartphones or phablets is known for its sheer value for money. Ulefone’s release of the Gemini is yet another clear example of this. In 2016, 90 percent of China’s phones originate from domestic manufacturers, which just shows the dominance these Chinese brands have within the huge domestic market. We were very impressed by the Ulefone BeTouch, a value smartphone with performance which really excelled for its price range. The Ulefone Gemini is no different. With updated OS and the innovative dual camera all for just over £100, it is quite the steal. Price As domestic smartphone prices keep hiking and foreign manufacturers begin to improve on hardware as well as stick to low prices, the grey market is becoming more and…

We probably all take the tiny chip inside our gadgets like smartphones for granted, but what actually goes into making and testing a modern processor and the other tech that goes with it? Android Advisor was fortunate enough to be given a tour of some of the many labs at Qualcomm’s headquarters in San Diego and here’s what we found. Our behind the scenes tour of Qualcomm’s campus in southern California might have been limited to just a few rooms in the many buildings but it’s not something the tech giant has ever done before. Qualcomm predominantly makes processors, although it’s now calling them Mobile Platforms instead. However, that’s not all the company looks at on site as you’ll see. If you’ve ever wondered what some of these tech intellects…

£474 inc VAT • vmall.eu/uk • release date, 20 April Honor is technically a start-up, but it exists as part of Huawei, the huge telecoms brand that has itself moved successfully into the smartphone business in recent years. The 8 Pro is the latest phone to use Huawei hardware and software under Honor’s cheaper branding. Does this make it inferior? What is clear from the off is that this is a change of gear for Honor; the 8 Pro is the highest spec phone its ever released, and it’s incredibly fast and powerful. It’s just that it doesn’t feel any more than the sum of its parts. Design This is hands down the most premium Honor phone ever and is actually the European version of the Chinese released Honor…

£299 inc VAT • asus.com/uk Even if sales don’t tell the same story, Android tablets struggle to keep up with the marketing clout of Apple’s iPad. The latter are excellent tablets, some of the best out there, and benefit from their closed combination of hardware and software. Android tablets, on the other hand, are an often-ponderous product. They remain more segmented and confused in their form and function than their smartphone counterparts. The combination of Google-based software and manufacturer specific hardware means they are a varied market. For every excellent iPad contender, there is a genuine stinker. Asus is hoping it’s made the former. The ZenPad 3S 10 is similar to an iPad in name and looks, but is quite different in use. On the face of things, it is…

Google has done it again, releasing the Developer Preview of its next Android operating system ahead of its annual Google I/O developer’s conference – exciting news for the increasing number of Android users across the globe. According to new research from StatCounter, Android is now the world’s number-one operating system for getting online, ahead of both Windows and iOS. In March 2017 it had 39.93 percent market share, versus Windows’ 37.91 percent. The first build of Android O offers insight into what’s coming next to the mobile OS. However, you won’t find the update on the Android Beta site. The first build is available for Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel C, Pixel and Pixel XL, but must be manually flashed on to a device and is not intended…

On 21 March 2017 Google made available the Android O Developer Preview, and for the second time it did so ahead of its annual Google I/O Developer’s Conference. The final version won’t be with us until late summer, but if you’re curious it is possible to download Android O today on compatible devices. Should you install Android O? Unless you are a developer, then the answer is quite simply no. Google doesn’t intend this first build of Android O to be available to the general public, and for that reason it has not issued the beta through the usual Android Beta over-the-air channel. Some of you will insist on doing so anyway. So you should know that this will be entirely on you, and if you don’t know what you’re…

£779 inc VAT • samsung.com/uk • release date, 28 April We’ve already looked at Samsung’s Galaxy S8 (page 4). Here we look at that phone’s big brother – the Galaxy S8+. Design This year there’s not a huge difference between Samsung’s two flagship phones. As they both have an edge screen display, the handsets are simply different sizes when it comes to design – hence the Galaxy S8 and S8+ naming system with no ‘edge’ element. The Plus model isn’t vastly bigger than the regular Galaxy S8. It’s around 10mm taller and 5mm wider, which isn’t much to jump from a 5.8- to 6.2in screen (see below). It’s astonishing how normal these phones feel in the hand considering those figures. Bear in mind that the S8+ is heavier at…

£259 inc VAT • motorola.co.uk • out now Lenovo’s Motorola Mobility used MWC 2017 to show off its new Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus, which are brilliantly priced smartphones that offer some of the features of its flagship but without the cost. We spent some time with both devices on the show floor to give you a closer look at the new smartphones and offer our initial thoughts about them. Here, we bring you our hands-on review of the Moto G5 Plus. Design This is a good-looking phone that manages to stay compact despite its 5.2in display. That’s smaller than the previous G4 Plus’s 5.5in display and is an unusual choice considering the much cheaper G5 has a 5in display. The G5 Plus measures 150x74x7.7mm and weighs 155g,…

£201 inc VAT • tinyurl.com/Lvztjg9 The S30 is Nomu’s flagship Android phone, a handset that matches decent specifications with a tough titanium alloy shell and rubber protection at the corners. It’s waterproof, shockproof, dustproof and it can stand up to extreme temperatures, but is it for you? Price The Nomu S30 is a Chinese phone that you can purchase through Chinese sites such as GearBest, where it costs £201 in Black, as per our review model. If you’re happy to get the Silver version, this is a little cheaper at £184. You should note that upon arrival in the UK you may be asked to pay import duty, which is calculated at 20 percent of the value on the shipping paperwork plus an admin fee of around £11. Also know…

Using your phone while driving is not a good idea. Aside from the road accidents it could cause there’s also the real possibility of falling foul of new, harsher legal restrictions that come into play from March 2017. Now any driver seen holding, touching, or generally interacting with a mobile device while in control of a vehicle (and that includes sitting at red lights or being stationary while stuck in traffic) could face the levy of six points on their license and a £200 fine. Drivers who passed their test in the last two years could lose their license entirely if caught using a phone, and more experienced motorists who see their cases go to court also face the revocation of their driving privileges while being handed a £1000 fine.…